Aston V12 Zagato reaches production

Aston Martin reveals final, road-going version of its £400k V12 Zagato. Good show

It first made waves at the Villa d'Este last May; from there it raced as a prototype in June at the gruelling Nürbürgring 24hrs, and last September made an appearance at the Frankfurt motor show. All as a full-blooded, big-winged cabin-less racecar.

Next week, in Kuwait, Aston Martin will finally reveal the road-going production version of its lightly expensive and gently unique Aston Martin V12 Zagato. And it will look like this.

The new V12 builds on just over 50 years of history between the British and Italian firms, the first DB4 GTs with Zagato bodies appearing as racecars in 1961. Think of the new V12 Zagato as Aston's Golden anniversary present, to itself.

Aston Martin's chief, Dr Ulrich Bez, said: "Our relationship with Zagato stretches back more than 50 years. Together in that time we have created a series of very special cars. The first - the DB4GT Zagato - is a true icon: fast, beautiful and incredibly desirable. In the V12 Zagato I believe we have captured the spirit of that car and combined it with a confident twist of modernity to give it a character all of its own."

Each Zagato takes around 2,000 man hours to complete, and is constructed from hand-crafted aluminium and carbon fibre, just like the One-77. The car sits on a V12 Vantage platform with that body, complete with 'double-bubble' roof, bonded to the aluminium structure of the base car, designed by Aston Martin design chief Marek Reichmann's team in Britain. In fact, the Aston designer insists the new Zagato takes cues from the past, but forges a new design language for future Astons.

The less said about that rear spoiler though, the better. Yes, by being big and shouty and fixed, it remains true to the original racer's pedigree, but surely a more subtler appendage would have benefitted the rare Aston?

Elsewhere, there's also a lovely bespoke interior, and the major hardware of the donor Vantage remains unchanged, so you're looking at a 6.0-litre V12 with 510bhp and 420lb of torque. Just 150 are being built, and they'll cost £330,000 plus taxes. No need to guess too hard as to its intended clientele, judging by its launch venue...